There’s no love lost between Sean “Diddy” Combs and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
The two rap moguls have had beef since long before 55-year-old Combs was arrested and charged with sex trafficking and racketeering.
In their early days in the music industry, the two men were never close but did collaborate on occasional projects.
However, their relationship soured due to disputes over artist contracts and rival vodka brands.
In recent months, Jackson, 49, who is also knowns as “Fiddy,” has repeatedly mocked Combs over the shocking revelations that have emerged during the latter’s ongoing trial.
Here, we look back at a timeline of the long-running feud that continues to this day.
April 2001 – Diddy (allegedly) raps verse ghostwritten by 50 Cent
Back in 2001, Jackson was still trying to make a name for himself as a rapper and would ghostwrite lyrics for other artists. In 2022, he told The Breakfast Club that one of the verses he wrote during this time was Diddy’s appearance on G. Dep’s “Let’s Get It.”
Jackson referenced this early work experience on 2003’s “U Not Like Me,” which appeared as a bonus track on some versions of his debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. In the song, Jackson raps: “Hoes be like ‘50, you so witty’/ On the d*** like they heard I ghostwrite for P. Diddy.” This was the first time either artist mentioned the other on record.
The pair interacted in various public ways as Jackson’s star rose: Combs presented the younger artist with the Best Video Award at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards for “In Da Club,” welcoming him to the stage with a friendly: “Come on, playboy… 50 Cent!”
August 2006 – 50 Cent drops ‘The Bomb’ on Diddy
Tension between Combs and Jackson first started to emerge when the former apparently prevented rapper Mase from leaving his contract with Bad Boy Records to sign with Jackson’s own G-Unit.
Years later, Jackson said in an interview that Combs had requested $2 million in exchange for Mase’s contract, to which he replied: “Mase ain’t worth $2 million with $2 million in his pocket.”
Their bad blood became public when Jackson released diss track, “The Bomb” (also known as “Hip-Hop” after the Dead Prez beat the song uses). On the track, Jackson implied that Combs had been involved in the murder of Biggie Smalls, before rapping: “Oh I guess this means / I won’t be invited to the white parties / In the Hamptons / I don’t give a f*** / I don’t wanna hang out with your punk ass no way.”
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However, by 2007, their relationship seemed to be on the mend. Combs appeared on a remix of Jackson’s song “I Get Money” along with Jay-Z, and during that year’s Screamfest tour the three also shared the stage (along with Kanye West) at Madison Square Garden.
April 2015 – Ciroc vs Effen: the vodka wars
The rivalry between Jackson and Combs was reignited when both men began promoting their own vodka brands. Jackson posted a series of social media posts mocking Combs and promoting his own Effen Vodka, while Bad Boy artist French Montana filmed himself throwing bottles of Effen in the trash.
Combs reportedly reached out to try and calm the storm but Jackson wasn’t having any of it, writing on Instagram at the time: “I’m different, I don’t respect suckers. Puff reaching out to talk, and got his people hating at the same time. #EFFENVODKA we don’t drink #nopuffyjuice over here.”
January 2018 – 50 Cent suggests Diddy is homosexual, and the mogul responds
In 2017 and 2018, Jackson needled Combs with various social media posts implying that he was gay. When he was asked about the posts during an interview on radio show The Breakfast Club, Jackson doubled down on his claims.
“When he says things, he doesn’t even know what he’s saying is, like, fruity. He says to Fabolous, ‘Me and you, we need to party,’” Jackson recalled. “What is you talking about? When people say that to me I get a little uncomfortable.”
He added: “He said something to me a long time ago, at Chris Lighty’s wedding. He told me he’d take me shopping. I looked at him like, ‘What’d you just say? Let me move, man, before I do something. You gon’ make me mess up the wedding.’ No. That’s something a guy says to a girl.”
In his own Breakfast Club interview shortly afterwards, Combs played down reports of a feud between the pair with a smile, saying: “I don’t have no beef with Fif. He loves me. Y’all can’t see that he loves me? You really think that’s hate? You know he loves me.”
November 2018 – After the death of Kim Porter, 50 Cent sends condolences
The feud cooled as Jackson showed compassion to Combs after the death of Kim Porter, the mother of three of his children.
Jackson wrote on social media: “R.I.P to Kim Porter, I send my condolences to her friends and family. She was loved and will be missed dearly. I know Puff is hit right now, he loved her for real, soul mate type s***. Chin up puff, Positive vibes only.”
November 2023 – As Cassie’s lawsuit is settled, 50 Cent gets back to trolling Diddy
When details of Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit against her former partner Combs first broke, Jackson wasted no time in piling on to his longtime nemesis. “Damn brother love,” he wrote on Instagram, addressing Combs by one of his many nicknames. “brother love, brother love, you out here looking CRAZY AS A MF. LMAO.”
When the suit was settled, Jackson added: “He paid that money real quick.”
March 2024 – 50 Cent weighs in after federal agents raid Diddy’s homes in LA and Miami
When Homeland Security raided both of Combs’s homes “in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation” on 25 March, Jackson posted an image of the raid, writing: “S*** just got real…The Fed’s in all the cribs, damn they got the kids in cuffs.”
May 2024 – 50 Cent reacts to video of Diddy attacking ex-girlfriend Cassie
Jackson also reacted publicly after the release of video footage showing Combs attacking Ventura. CCTV footage from a 2016 incident showed Combs chasing his former partner down a hotel hallway before punching and kicking her to the floor. Combs, wearing only a towel around his waist and a pair of socks, then attempts to drag Ventura back down the corridor.
Resharing the footage of the incident to his X/Twitter account, Jackson wrote: “Now I’m sure puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”
After Combs subsequently posted an apology video, Jackson responded on social media: “This is not going to work, who is advising him right now? SMH bad move.”
September 2024 – 50 Cent announces he’s making a Diddy docuseries for Netflix
Jackson announced he was making a documentary series about Combs, and that Netflix had won the “bidding war”. The new series is set to be directed by Alexandria Stapleton, known for her 2023 baseball documentary Reggie and the 2024 piracy doc How Music Got Free.
In a joint statement to The Independent at the time, Jackson and Stapleton said: “This is a story with significant human impact. It is a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines or clips seen so far. We remain steadfast in our commitment to give a voice to the voiceless and to present authentic and nuanced perspectives.
“While the allegations are disturbing, we urge all to remember that Sean Combs’ story is not the full story of hip-hop and its culture. We aim to ensure that individual actions do not overshadow the culture’s broader contributions.”
October 2024 – 50 Cent says Diddy abuse allegations are ‘what I’ve been saying for 10 years’
Jackson publicly mocked Combs over many of the details of his arrest, including the revelation that law enforcement had seized “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant”.
Afterwards, Jackson told People: “Look, it seems like I’m doing some extremely outrageous things, but I haven’t. It’s really me just saying what I’ve been saying for 10 years.
“Now it’s becoming more full-facing in the news with the Puffy stuff, but away from that, I’m like, ‘Yo, it’s just my perspective because I stayed away from that stuff the entire time, because this is not my style.’”
May 2025 – 50 Cent mocks Diddy after his name is mentioned during testimony in sex trafficking trial
Capricorn Clark, an assistant to Combs from 2004 to 2012, testified that the disgraced mogul once threatened Jackson after an MTV press event by telling his employees that he had guns.
Jackson quickly responded on Instagram with an AI image of himself on a movie set and the caption: “Cut, CUT… Wait a minute PUFFY’s got a gun, I can’t believe this I don’t feel safe…LOL.”
Hours later, 50 Cent posted another dig at Combs, captioning another AI-generated photo of himself looking scared in a New York Yankees hat, “Oh my goodness itty bitty Diddy wants me Dead, I have to lay low, I think I’m gonna hide out at the playoff game tonight. LOL.”
June 2025 – 50 Cent claims he will personally intervene with Trump to stop any pardon of Diddy
After Donald Trump hinted he could potentially pardon Combs, Jackson vowed to make the president “aware” of his thoughts about the music mogul.
Alongside a clip of the president saying he’d consider pardoning Diddy, he wrote on Instagram: “He said some really bad things about Trump. it’s not ok. Im gonna reach out so he knows how I feel about this guy.”
The rapper doubled down on his position the next day, adding: “Donald doesn’t take well to disrespect, and doesn’t forget who chooses to go against him. while working tirelessly to make America great again there is no room for distraction.”
